Professor Zhang obtained a BS degree in Engineering Mechanics and MS degree in Biomechanics, both from Tongji University in Shanghai, China, and a PhD degree in Bioengineering from Clemson University in Clemson (the birthplace of the field of Biomaterials) in South Carolina, USA. He received his postdoctoral training at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Before coming to the University of Kentucky, he served as professor and associate chair of the Department of Bioengineering and the executive director of the Institute for Biological Interfaces of Engineering at Clemson University.

Professor Zhang is the President of the Institute of Biological Engineering, Founding President of the Chinese Association for Biomaterials, Executive Editor of the Biomaterials Forum, and Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He was recently named as one of the four editors for the seminal biomaterials textbook Biomaterials Science. His research aims to advance biomedical engineering and innovation through utilization of integrative means of investigation based on coupled experimentation and computation. Over the years, his research has been funded by diverse funding sources ranging from federal agencies such as National Institutes for Health and National Science Foundation, to private foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to venture groups and major industries.In addition to his extensive publications in the areas of biomechanics, biomaterials and biosensors, Professor Zhang holds numerous patents and has published three books, among them, Introduction to Integrative Engineering, a textbook published by CRC Group Taylor & Francis Press in 2017, highlights his philosophic views on re-engineering education and learning experiences.

Abstract:

As bioengineering researchers, we all dream of coming up groundbreaking ways to make a difference in improving health and quality of life, but we may not realize that our rigorous engineering training based on inductive logic could hinder us from doing just that. In this presentation I will walk you through our journey in seeking a novel way to interrogate biomolecules and sequence nucleotides to show you how we overcame this hinderance. The challenges facing today’s biosensing paradigm include not only the complexity in utilizing foreign molecules for labeling or reporting purposes, but also the reductive way of investigation and data interpretation. I will discuss not only what we did but how we did it. Specifically, I will show the importance for engineers to not just merely apply scientific principles for technology development, but to re-elucidate the fundamental science and then run with it for new applications. For instance, in the subject of this talk, we reexamined the science underlying the electrical double layer and took advantage of our new findings for resolving the physical and chemical properties of the molecules through direct molecule-electrode (or biology-engineering) interfacing. Furthermore, through this talk I hope to give you a good sense of how an integrative means of investigation is becoming imperative for designing and delivering enhanced performances for medical implant devices, biosensors, and other complex systems.